


Scenes From an Italian Restaurant

by mizface



Category: due South
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-31
Updated: 2011-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-28 13:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/308225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizface/pseuds/mizface
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ray calls to ask Stella to lunch, she almost says no, out of habit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scenes From an Italian Restaurant

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Title from a Billy Joel song. For the 2009 ds_flashfiction challenge "interruptions." Past RayK/Stella, present RayK/Fraser implied

When Ray calls to ask Stella to lunch, she almost says no, out of habit. But she wants to tell him in person about her and her new Ray, even if it isn’t really news anymore. She hadn’t gotten the chance before, not with him staying in Canada, going off on some snowy adventure with the Mountie. But he’s back now, and she owes it to him, to the history they shared.

When she gets to the restaurant he’s already there, lounging on the bench by the door. He stands and grins as she walks up. She hugs him briefly and he kisses her cheek, then holds the door for her.

It’s all polite smiles as they get seated and order, and she can tell they’re both feeling the nervous tension. When she finally decides she needs to say something, she isn’t alone.

“Ray, I need to-”  
“Listen, Stell-”

Ray smiles and nods toward her. “Ladies first.”

Okay, she can do this. “I’m getting married.”

He nods again. “Yeah, Mom told me. Congratulations.”

She eyes him warily. “You mean that, Ray?”

He blinks at that, and looks surprised. “Course I do. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy. And we both know that isn’t gonna happen with me.”

Which is unfortunately true, but to hear him say it throws her a little. “Did Barbara tell you who?”

“Yeah.” He frowns at that, but goes on before she can start her defense. “Listen, Vecchio’s a good guy and all and trust me, I know. I _was_ him, after all.” He pauses then, as if unsure of how to tell her what’s bothering him.

“But…?”

Ray sighs and gently takes her hand. “He’s been undercover – deep under – and I know about that too. How hard it can be to come back from, especially the bad times.” He watches her, searching. “You ready for that, to help him through it?”

His tone is all concern, no reminders of how she hated doing just that when they’d been married. “Yeah, I am,” she replies seriously.

Ray studies her a few moments more, then nods. “Okay, then. But if I hear he isn’t good to you, he’s gonna have to answer to me.” He squeezes her hand once before letting go, and like that the mood lightens up again.

“Mom says you’re moving, too,” Ray comments as he settles back in his chair.

She shrugs. “Yeah. I think we could both use a fresh start. Ray has an uncle in Florida with a business proposition. If it doesn’t work out, I’m sure they need lawyers there.”

Ray snorts at that. “They need lawyers everywhere. You’ll be fine, golden girl.”

“What about you, Ray? Are you going back to the 27th?”

He shakes his head, and some of the tension is back. “You aren’t the only one looking for a fresh start. Gonna try my luck up north.”

And there was the reason he’d been nervous, she realizes. Not about her getting married, about telling her this. “You and Fraser are... together, then?” she asks, no judgment, just curiosity.

Ray chuckles at that. “What, Mom’s gossip train didn’t run both ways? Yeah, we are. And it’s a good thing, Stella, not some kind of post-undercover freakout.”

She thinks back on seeing them together, their close partnership. There had been a few rumors, but nothing concrete, and given his continued pursuit of her, Stella had dismissed them at the time. But now she wonders. “How long have you…?”

“The relationship part is pretty recent, but we’ve been dancing around it since day one.”

She smiles wryly. “You always did love to dance.”

He laughs at that, a clear, happy sound she hasn’t heard from him in a long time, and Stella remembers how easy it was to be in love with Ray Kowalski once upon a time.

“Looks like congratulations are in order for both of us, then.”

Ray takes her hand again, kissing the back of it lightly. “Thanks, Stell.”

The waiter arrives with their salads then, and the talk shifts to moves and packing, reminiscing about the early days of their marriage. It’s the first time in a long time Stella can remember being relaxed and comfortable around Ray, and she’s pretty sure he’s feeling the same way. She sighs. _This_ Ray, she’ll miss. She’s missed him for years.

When lunch is over and Ray’s paid the check, despite her repeated attempts to get him to split the bill, Stella finds herself reluctant to leave. But there’s boxes waiting to be filled, and she and Ray, her new Ray, are supposed to have dinner with her parents tonight, so she has to go.

When they walk out he reaches for her and she moves easily into his arms for a long hug. When she finally pulls back, her eyes are a little damp. Ray smiles at her softly, then takes her hand and dances with her, humming and moving them across the sidewalk. He picks up the tempo after a minute, then twirls her out and pulls her back in until they’re face to face. He flashes her a quick grin, kisses the tip of her nose, and then dips her. She’s laughing as he brings her up, and she squeezes him tightly and kisses his cheek before letting go.

“You need anything, you call me,” he says as he hails a taxi and walks her to it. “Doesn’t matter when, doesn’t matter why. Okay?”

Stella smiles as she gets in. “Okay.” And it is, she thinks, watching him through the window as the cab pulls away. Finally, it really is.


End file.
